The story of a young geisha who falls madly in love with an american captain that travels all around the world collecting hearts.The story of a young geisha who falls madly in love with an american captain that travels all around the world collecting hearts.The story of a young geisha who falls madly in love with an american captain that travels all around the world collecting hearts.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe entire Japanese village set and house were built in Tunisia, Northern Africa.
- GoofsDuring Act 2 and Act 3, a blooming wisteria is shown to be growing along the house's roof above the porch. In reality wisteria would not have been grown here as the house's structure would have been unsuitable for it. Wisteria is a plant known to become heavy and massive with age; it would have been grown along a sturdy trellis or stone wall instead as not to cause any damage.
- Quotes
Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton: She's like a porcelain doll. She sets me on fire.
Featured review
Beautifully executed, despite weird artistic choices by director
In early August I saw this opera for the first time as a 2017 performance at the Royal Opera House, and I loved the music so much I decided to watch this version as well. What makes this movie stand out is the decision to cast Asian actors and actresses for the Asian roles.
Ying Huang (Cio-cio-san/Butterfly) played the affection-starved yet goodhearted woman beautifully. Richard Troxell (Pinkerton, the American naval officer) played the entitled "playboy" so convincingly I had the urge to slap him through the screen. Jingma Fan (Goro) played the marriage broker; in this version he's not only oppertunistic but also slightly malicious which was surprising but Fan played it well.
The visuals in this movie were unexpectedly beautiful. Instead of depicting the bustling harbour city of Nagasaki they chose a more rural setting with thatched houses; as it was shot "on location" in Tunisia the village is dotted with olive trees rather than pine trees. This was probably done for economic reasons, yet it doesn't feel fake for a moment: the houses look real and lively, the gardens are lined with flowers, people are fishing for mussels in the surf. The costumes and interiors were pretty as well. The cinematography was a bit clunky at times (especially in Act 3) which admittedly bothered me more than it should have.
However, I feel the director took too many artistic liberties. By inserting flashbacks and flash-forwards and making it appear as if days or even months pass between different musical pieces he interrupted the pacing of the music. He also left out a good 10 minutes of music at the beginning of Act 3 ("Oh Eh ! Oh Eh !")
Despite some flaws on the director's part, this still makes for a good movie with good casting, beautiful casting and beautiful visuals. I can recommend this movie to everyone, even the people who don't like opera.
Ying Huang (Cio-cio-san/Butterfly) played the affection-starved yet goodhearted woman beautifully. Richard Troxell (Pinkerton, the American naval officer) played the entitled "playboy" so convincingly I had the urge to slap him through the screen. Jingma Fan (Goro) played the marriage broker; in this version he's not only oppertunistic but also slightly malicious which was surprising but Fan played it well.
The visuals in this movie were unexpectedly beautiful. Instead of depicting the bustling harbour city of Nagasaki they chose a more rural setting with thatched houses; as it was shot "on location" in Tunisia the village is dotted with olive trees rather than pine trees. This was probably done for economic reasons, yet it doesn't feel fake for a moment: the houses look real and lively, the gardens are lined with flowers, people are fishing for mussels in the surf. The costumes and interiors were pretty as well. The cinematography was a bit clunky at times (especially in Act 3) which admittedly bothered me more than it should have.
However, I feel the director took too many artistic liberties. By inserting flashbacks and flash-forwards and making it appear as if days or even months pass between different musical pieces he interrupted the pacing of the music. He also left out a good 10 minutes of music at the beginning of Act 3 ("Oh Eh ! Oh Eh !")
Despite some flaws on the director's part, this still makes for a good movie with good casting, beautiful casting and beautiful visuals. I can recommend this movie to everyone, even the people who don't like opera.
helpful•11
- pearlinasilverbasin
- Aug 22, 2020
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Madame Butterfly, de Frederick Mitterand
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $65,196
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,027
- May 5, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $65,196
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